DEKALB, Ill. – Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) recorded a career-high 25 kills as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team defeated Illinois State, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 33-31, on Tuesday night at Victor E. Court. Senior Chandler Kinley (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) posted her fourth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 12 digs while senior Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) tallied a match-high 21 digs. 

"It was fun to be back home and to defend our home court," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "It was nice to have a scrap fest between the two teams. It started off a little crazy and then settled itself down after a while. 

"Kaylee's number of 25 kills (stands out), she is capable of doing it, but it doesn't have to be just her. I thought Autumn Martin came in and did a really nice job when we needed her. Miranda Karlen did a real nice job defensively, Chandler (Kinley) did a nice job in the 5-1. There are so many people that did positive things tonight, it was really cool how we handled situations, especially when it was tight."

Leading two sets to one, NIU came from behind and then outlasted Illinois State in the final set, 33-31. The Redbirds led early in the set, 10-4, but the Huskies fought back to trim the Illinois State lead to just one, 14-13. ISU then scored five of the next six as its lead ballooned to 19-14, but five-straight from the Huskies helped NIU take a 22-21 lead. Freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson), junior Chrystal McAlpin (Calumet Park, Ill./Shepard) and Martin each had a kill during the run while freshman Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) added an ace.

The set went back-and-forth to 31-all before back-to-back Illinois State errors helped NIU take the set, 33-31, and the match, 3-1. Martin had eight of her 25 kills in the final set, Brereton had seven digs in the final set.

Jaelyn Keene recorded 13 kills in the match to lead Illinois State, Courtney Pence had 14 digs and Lexi Varga added 13 digs. 

NIU (1-11) opened the match by taking the first set, 25-19. Trailing early 9-8, the Huskies scored four-straight to build a slim three-point advantage. Martin and junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) each had a kill during the burst for the Huskies. NIU's lead was still three, 19-16, when a kill from Radtke sparked a 4-0 run that gave the Huskies a 23-16 lead. McAlpin finished the set with a kill as NIU took the opening set, 25-19. 

In the second set, Illinois State (4-6) was leading 10-9 before scoring six-straight points to increase its advantage to six. The Redbirds still led by six, 22-16, until five-straight points brought the Huskies within a point. An Illinois State error started the run before Radtke added an ace, Martin and sophomore Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) each recorded kills and another Redbird error cut the ISU lead to just one. Illinois State would score the next two points however and go on to take the set, 25-22. 

An 8-1 run helped the Huskies take control of the third set. With ISU leading 9-8, NIU scored eight of the next nine to take a 16-10 lead. Martin, Milbrath and Wolowicz all had kills during the run and Karlen added a service ace. The Huskies led the set 22-16 before Illinois State closed the gap to just one, 24-23, but an error by the Redbirds helped give the Huskies the third set, 25-23. 

NIU hit .333 in the third set with 16 kills, Martin had six kills in the set while Wolowicz added five. 

The Huskies will conclude non-conference play this weekend at the Buckeye Invitational. NIU will face Dayton and host Ohio State on Friday, Sept. 15, before matching up with Western Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 16.